A big, cafeteria-style eatery frequented by cops and wise guys, politicians and business people, and cured-meat lovers from the distant suburbs, Manny’s has a vast menu, but the star of the show is corned beef. Great mountains of the pink, spicy, moist meat are overstuffed into rye bread sandwiches and accompanied, preferably, by crisp potato pancakes.

Highlighted Reviews

"Manny's Coffee Shop and Deli is at the edge of Chicago’s loop, not far from where the everything-goes bazaar known as Maxwell Street once thrived. Maxwell Street is tame today, but the restaurant Manny Raskin opened a half century ago fairly bursts with the personality ..."
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Skip Becker

July 27, 2006

"I brought three foodies to Manny's: a NYC deli owner, a food critic, and a restaurant supplier. The first person ordered a hot dog with loads of sauerkraut (a NY dog), a knish, cole slaw, and a pastrami sandwich. The critic had a pastrami sandwich, chopped liver, ..."
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"No human jaw can stretch wide enough to eat this pile of corned beef between slices of bread like a normal sandwich. We watched it sliced, and it was still good and warm when we slathered on the mustard and started eating with knife, fork, and fingers."
Michael Stern

"Matzoh Ball Soup: a wonderful way to begin a meal, especially on a cool day."
Michael Stern

"This is an oh-so-sweet pastry known as an 'apple slice.' It was good but, frankly, we were a little jealous of tablemate Bill Daley, who got vanilla pudding and declared it 'the real thing!'"
Michael Stern

"Manny's sells blintzes by the piece. One or two make a side dish for meat; three or four, with sour cream and apple sauce, are a dandy meal."
Michael Stern

"For $9.95 you get a massive corned beef sandwich with a single potato pancake on the side and, of course, a couple of dill pickle spears."
Michael Stern

"Beyond its delicious flavor, the joy of a corned beef sandwich at Manny's has a lot to do with Gino, the man who slices the beef and piles it into bread with the sleight-of-hand of a master magician and the wise cracks of a stand-up comedian."
Michael Stern

"When Manny's opened near Maxwell Street just after World War II, it took over a space that had been a restaurant called Sunny's. To save money on the sign, proprietor Jack Raskin simply replaced the SU with MA ... and Manny's was born."
Michael Stern